It’s the Tokyo Game Show, which means it’s time for the annual Japan Game Awards, the award ceremony that will celebrate the release of the many releases of games we’ve had in the past year! Elden Ring has won the Best Game of the Year award at the Japan Game Awards, which was the first time FromSoftware take home this big award, as well as the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry Award.
Though there was only one Grand Award winner, nine other titles were given Awards of Excellence: Resident Evil Village, Sky: Children of the Light, Tales of Arise, Lost Judgment, Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker, Pokemon Legends: Arceus, Horizon Forbidden West, Ghostwire: Tokyo and Kirby and the Forgotten Land. Here are all the winners for all categories and highlighted comments from the judges in Japan Game Awards 2022!
Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry Award
Hidetaka Miyazaki (FromSoftware)
Best Sales Award & Global Award Japanese Product
Pokémon Shining Diamond/Brilliant Pearl
This was…something I did not expect, especially after the mixed reception I’ve heard from the Generation 4 remakes of Pokémon, but the fact it won both the Best Sales Award AND the Global Award Japanese Product must’ve meant it was very popular indeed. Oh well, I’ll still be waiting eagerly for a remake of Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky (laughs).
Global Award Foreign Product
Call of Duty: Vanguard
Game Designers Award
Winner: Inscryption
Although Inscryption won the card game genre, everything about it: setting, mood, the skillful metafiction leads to some rather unexpected developments. According to the judging committee, this game was won with resounding positive influence from the judges.
Award For Excellence
Ghostwire: Tokyo
This game has earned acclaim among fans and critics alike as the paranormal love letter to Tokyo, and well, that does hold true, with an average user score of 91 on Metacritic, and an average of 75 among various critics. It’s no surprise that such a game might’ve caught the attention of the JGA judges.
Sky: Children of the Light
Swirling clouds, distant light beams, and the ruins of a lost civilization. What more could you ask from a game? After receiving positive reviews, it’s no wonder this might’ve been a good contender for the awards.
Tales of Arise
A game that encompasses 25 years of a long-running fan-favorite series. Given its positive reception, and also the fact that the new Atmospheric Shader was a sight to behold, it is very great to see that the Tales of series continues to set the standard.
Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker
This honestly doesn’t surprise me in the slightest. Not only was Endwalker one of the biggest expansions to date, but it also received an insane amount of praise. Even though its release may have caused the biggest server congestion I personally saw (flashbacks…), the fact it won the Excellence Award just confirms that yes, this is a game worth playing.
Kirby and the Forgotten Land
After what felt like years, the Kirby franchise had finally gotten a new companion. If what you were looking for is just plain fun with friends and stuff, look no further than this game.
Pokémon Legends: Arceus
Legends: Arceus tried something new with the Pokémon formula, adding a more “open-world” concept. Well, it seems that concept worked really well, because of its glowing reviews from both users and critics alike.
Horizon Forbidden West
After the commercial success of Horizon Zero Dawn, Sony had to try its hands at a sequel. And I think that worked out really well for them! After all, the excellency award on the JGA is a massive achievement.
Lost Judgment
The Yakuza/Like a Dragon series has seen massive success worldwide. But what if you didn’t control a yakuza, but instead…a detective? Well, Lost Judgment does bring that in spades.
Grand Award
Elden Ring
Not only was Elden Ring a massive game, the dark fantasy world with overwhelming volume and quality, but also earned it tremendous support from many users. In the general votes, most of the fans said, “It is no doubt this game is a masterpiece. Everything is awesome.”
Japan Game Awards 2022 Live Stream
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